Ukraine is pushing forward with a fully automated system to restrict military personnel from accessing gambling services across the country.
The country’s gambling regulator, PlayCity, has launched a tender to find suitable development partners capable of building the new verification infrastructure.
Once operational, the system will automatically cross-reference individuals against Ukraine’s national list of people restricted from gambling and the military personnel register.
The government’s decentralised data exchange platform, known as ‘Trembita’, will serve as the backbone for the system, connecting the relevant government databases needed for compliance.
Trembita operates as a state-wide network designed to allow different government bodies to share data securely and efficiently across Ukraine.
Following a successful tender process, PlayCity and the Ministry of Defense will enter a joint testing phase that is scheduled to run until 24 December 2026.
Once testing concludes and results are verified, the restriction mechanism will be officially launched and made publicly accessible.
While the automated system is still being developed and tested, existing self-exclusion tools remain available to all Ukrainian citizens regardless of military status.
Any individual can independently apply for self-exclusion from gambling, selecting a restriction period ranging from six months to three years.
First-degree relatives or legal representatives also retain the ability to submit a reasoned application to restrict a person’s participation in gambling under current rules.
The automated system, once live, will apply specifically to licensed gambling operators and platforms operating legally within Ukraine’s regulated market.
Ukraine continues to face a separate and ongoing challenge with illegal gambling, as offshore and unlicensed operators fall outside the direct scope of the new access-blocking mechanism.
Enforcement against those unlicensed platforms remains a distinct issue that the planned automated system is not designed to address in its current form.
